Barack Obama: “This is not the future to which we want to consign our children, and it is a burden our health care system cannot bear.”

It is a basic principle of American democracy that the government can’t selectively target individuals simply because of their political beliefs or what they say.

And I will fight for that, even if I don’t always think it’s going to win.

The full weight of the federal government is being brought down on a law-abiding elected official because she has dared to criticize the president.

When we choose, when we make that decision, I do believe – and there is evidence for this – that the world gets incrementally better, and that is a worthy goal and it’s worth fighting for.